The Magical Tool Laboratory was said to be the number one department within the Ministry where you did not want to end up. When I first found myself assigned there, I trembled in trepidation at the sight of all the odd people working there, but now I was completely used to it. Though many of my senior colleagues were pretty peculiar, they were all very thoughtful people. So, far from regretting having ended up in this department, I was now very glad that I had.
When I knocked on the door to the department and entered, I found that no one else was there yet. The department was often very busy, and there were apparently even times when its workers were expected to stay in the office overnight for days at a time, but right now it seemed to be relatively relaxed. Incidentally, according to one of my senior colleagues, you could measure how busy the department currently was by how dark the bags under Raphael’s eyes were—he was the deputy head of the department.
I wonder if that’s really true. As I pondered this, I opened all the curtains and windows. The weather was nice today, so this let warm sunshine and fresh air into the room. In this department, we were each expected to keep our own desks and the space directly around them clean, so I started sweeping the shared space with a broom.
Early on, some of my senior colleagues were shocked to see me, the daughter of a duke, cleaning the office with a broom, but they had come to fully accept it. It was true that, due to my social standing in this life, I had tended not to let myself be seen cleaning outside. At home, however, I often brought dirt inside the manor after working on my vegetable patch, and my mother would get angry and insist that I clean it up myself, so I did a fair bit of cleaning there. And of course in my previous life I had helped clean at home and at school, so I was used to it. Besides, I quite liked taking the time to make sure my space was spick-and-span. It was particularly uplifting to tidy up when the weather was nice. And so I was happily sweeping when the door opened with a click and one of my senior colleagues who had a very strong personality entered the room.
“Morning! Thanks for tidying up,” said Laura (real name Guy Handerson), as she waved her hand delicately right next to her face. Today, she still looked like a macho man, but was also undeniably girly.
“Good morning. Have you changed your outfit again?”
Today Laura was completely decked out with frills; she was always changing her outfit quite dramatically.
“Yes, I have. After I was forced to dress like a man the other day when working outside the office, I felt the need to bounce back by wearing something even cuter than normal. I got some new makeup too. Even this lipstick is a brand new color!” said Laura, pursing her lips slightly to show that they were a pretty pink color.
“That’s a cute color.”
“Isn’t it just? I fell in love with it the moment I saw it and just had to buy it.”
“Did this happen at the store you mentioned the other day, the one you really like?”
Laura spared no effort in exploring new stores where cute clothes and makeup were sold, and she’d told me about many of them.
“That’s right. That store has such a wonderful range of makeup products, and they’re all of excellent quality, so I really recommend it. Miss Katarina, please check it out some time.”
“Hmmm. But, well, I guess I really don’t know much about makeup. I always just leave my makeup to Anne, my maid.”
My answer caused Laura to frown heavily.
“Heavens, what a waste for you to remain so indifferent. Miss Katarina, you’re lucky to have such a pretty face, and I’m sure you’d be even more lovely if you would only try more things,” Laura lamented, pouting.
Why Laura, you certainly know how to flatter a girl. “Pretty face” indeed. While my face now is certainly better than the raccoon face I had in my previous life, it is still a villainess’s face.
To be fair, the maids at Claes Manor had told me much the same thing that Laura just had many times before. But whenever I went to look at one of these cute stores that were recommended to me, hungry feelings won out over sultry ones as I found myself pulled in the direction of stores selling tasty-looking food. Anne, who was in charge of my makeup, tended to accompany me on such outings, so she had apparently ended up becoming oddly knowledgeable about food and vegetable gardening for a maid, but only developed a passable knowledge of makeup. I did think that this was unfair to Anne as well.
“Hmmm. But I somehow always end up looking at food instead of makeup,” I said.
Laura furrowed her brow again.
“Miss Katarina, you really are still just a child. I think you might change your tune if you ever find someone you like. Is there anyone you’re interested in?” Laura asked.
As I was trying to think of anyone I might be interested in, we were joined by Raphael, the beating heart of the department.
“Good morning,” he said.
“Good morning,” Laura and I responded in unison.
Come to think of it, where’s Sora? He usually gets here before me, or about the same time. When I turned my head left and right, searching for Sora, Raphael seemed to read my mind.
“Sora is working outside the office today, so he won’t be coming in. Also, I have a particular job I’d like to ask you to take care of, Miss Katarina,” said Raphael.
“A job for me to take care of?”
I hadn’t heard these words many times before, so I cocked my head and looked back at him quizzically.
“Yes. Miss Larna asked for you specifically.”
“Miss Larna did?”